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Last year, the Raiders couldn't have achieved that goal any more than they did.
Following a 5-12 dual meet season with a young squad, the Raiders shocked the tournament by putting five of their own in the finals, three of them freshmen.
While freshman Brett Smith claimed the lone title, the overall performance landed the Raiders a third-place finish in the team standings.
"I wasn't surprised," said Klepfer, who earned the Class AA Coach of the Year award. "It was a pleasant surprise, but not a shock. I knew they could wrestle, those young kids. The best part about it was we avenged a lot of losses at districts that we had lost to during the regular season. That was more exciting than anything else."
So with this year's squad that has no seniors on the roster, Klepfer hopes the momentum continues. It won't be easy, considering the Raiders will have to replace four starters who either graduated, transferred, decided to not go out for the team or are injured.
Klepfer believes the dual season will be better and a record below .500 would be a disappointment, although the team will likely forfeit two weights the first half of the season, and the individual postseason will be at least as exciting as a year ago.
"I expect when we get to Clarion University for the individual districts to win the title," Klepfer said. "It will be a focus point. We talk about it all of the time. I have to get these guys thinking they can win a district title, because granted, Ridgway has everyone coming back, but so do we, plus a few good ninth-graders we brought up
"Most of the guys have bought into (a district title) and are starting to think it. But again, you can't take six of them. It has to be all of them," Klepfer said. "Expectations are higher. I think good things will happen at the end. And last year was a perfect example of that. The guys who excelled at districts put in the extra time in the offseason and every single night worked their tails off in practice."
Smith debuted as a freshman and won the 112-pound title, finishing his rookie year with a 27-10 record. He'll move up to 119 this year and may see some action early in the year at what will normally be a forfeited spot at 125.
"He does everything right," Klepfer said. "He's a great student, gets the extra workouts in and goes to camps in the summer. He went to freestyle states and did well there. It's a real simple formula. It's the guys who put in the extra time who are usually the guys who succeed."
The only regular that'll start in front of Smith at the lighter weights at this point may be sophomore Trey Constable (17-12), who will start the year at 112 pounds. Hopefully, he'll be down to 103 by the postseason. If he gets there, his size this year and another year of experience will make him a dangerous opponent.
"Trey probably got his eyes opened up and made him realize that he can beat anyone in the area," said Klepfer of Constable, who reached the 103 finals as a freshman last year. "He made big, big leaps from the beginning to the end."
Right now, the Raiders don't have a 103-pounder. Freshman Shane Hummel, who will start the season on the injured list, could eventually see action at 112 (when/if Constable bumps down) or 119 (if Smith bumps up to 125).
The 125-pound spot will probably start the season vacant, but eventually, a couple of newcomers could be in that spot. Junior Aaron Ames returns to the program after a couple of years off and transfer student Cody Reitz will eliminate for the starting spot at 130 pounds. The loser of that battle could wind up at 125 when the two-pound allowance kicks in in mid-January.
"Aaron won 17 bouts as a freshman and could really surprise some people," Klepfer said. "Five practices in, no one's worked harder than Cody. He's still has a lot to learn, but is working extremely hard at it."
Sophomore Dylan Zimmerman (23-14), a finalist at 130 pounds last year, will move up to 135.
With Derek Shattenburg deciding to not go out for the team and district finalist Dustin Dombrowski out for the season with a knee injury, the Raiders will look to another freshman to plug a hole at 140. Taylor Cudworth was 20-2 last year in junior high and qualified for states in the junior wrestling program. He'll likely be backed up by first-year junior Dylan Buffington.
At 145, juniors Ron Clark (14-19) and Anthony Black (9-8) will compete for the starting spot. Clark wrestled at 119 a year ago while Black's rookie season was cut short by injury at 145.
Sophomore Tyler Dombrowski (11-21), a finalist at 152 last year, will start at either 152 or at 160 pounds. Also helping fill those spots will be freshman Brian Crissman and sophomore Mitch Minich. Crissman was 15-5 in junior high last year while Minich returns to the sport after a one-year hiatus.
Recovering from a preseason football injury, sophomore Jacob Cieleski (20-15) should be ready return to his 171 by the season opener while Jacob Shields (28-10) is back at 189 after finishing second at districts a year ago.
Shields, the team's winningest wrestler a year ago, will certainly be a favorite this year considering he's the only district placewinner returning to the weight.
"He was an overtime loss away from going to states last year," Klepfer said. "I know his goal is to win a district, regional and state title and he's close. He's a kid who works. We have a handful of kids who work 8-9 months a year and he's one of them. The goal is to get to Hershey, then it's anyone's game once you get there in most weight classes."
The Raiders' heavyweights will probably have a different look this year as junior Madison Shobert has the edge at 215. Juniors Luke Geer (1-11) and Mike Crane, a transfer from Ohio, will vie for the heavyweight spot, replacing Logan Stout who transferred out of the district.
"Madison wrestled a year in junior high and Crane brings some experience," Klepfer said. "They're athletic for big guys and we'll try to get them to use that to their advantage. Shobert has potential to surprise some people. He works hard. They say he's one of the hardest workers on the football field and so far, he's been a nice surprise for us as coaches."
The Raiders open the year at home against Clarion on Dec. 15, the team's lone dual meet in December, before wrestling in the Penn Manor Tournament (Dec. 18-19) and Big Dog Invitational at Brockway (Dec. 28-29).
On Klepfer's staff this year is Keith Ferraro, Nick Deloia, Garrett Hurd and Ben Darr.
ROSTER
Seniors: None. Juniors: Cody Reitz, Ron Clark, Anthony Black, Jacob Shields, Madison Shobert, Luke Geer, Mike Crane, Aaron Ames, Dylan Buffington. Sophomores: Trey Constable, Brett Smith, Dylan Zimmerman, Jacob Cieleski, Tyler Dombrowski, Mitch Minich. Freshmen: Brian Crissman, Taylor Cudworth, Shane Hummel.
